Mumbai rain updates: 4 killed; local trains, buses back on track | 10 points
At least four persons died as torrential rains battered Mumbai, leading to floods and bringing India’s financial capital to a standstill. The downpour also prompted the closure of schools on Thursday, September 26.
Some parts of Mumbai recorded around 275 mm (11 inches) of rain on Wednesday evening, which crippled road traffic and delayed the Mumbai local trains millions of residents use every day.
However, the Central Railways said the local train services were restored in Andheri station on Thursday morning as the water has receded following a night of downpour across Maharashtra’s Mumbai resulting in severe waterlogging.
Officials told news agency Reuters that four people died from rain-related incidents.
Latest updates on Mumbai torrential rains:
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai warning of heavy rainfall. The city administration has declared a holiday for all schools and colleges in Mumbai following the IMD forecast. The Pune district administration has also declared a holiday for schools and colleges due to heavy rain.
In a statement issued by the Central Railways, it said, “All local trains are running normally. On the main line, 3-4 minutes behind schedule because of rescheduled mail express movements and few cautions, Rest all normal.”
The Central Railways earlier said harbour line local trains resumed after the water receded between Govandi and Mankhurd. “Trains are running with caution and a restricted speed of 25 kmph. Services resumed at 11.23 pm,” it added.
It has also issued an advisory to commuters in the wake of waterlogged tracks, appealing to avoid stepping onto the tracks and stay inside the trains. This came after several commuters were seen walking on the tracks at Chunabhatti Railway Station.
Apart from Andheri, several parts of Mumbai, including Kurla East, Nehru Nagar, and Chembur, experienced waterlogging and traffic disruptions due to torrential rains. Kurla Bridge witnessed heavy traffic snarls on Wednesday night.
Buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking also hit the roads since early morning.
As many as 14 incoming flights at the Mumbai Airport were diverted to different airports on Wednesday due to heavy rains, an airport official said here. Of these, nine flights were of IndiGo alone which were not given clearance to land in the city due to the inclement weather.
Heavy rain triggered a landslide at the Mumbra bypass around 11.30pm on Wednesday.
A 45-year-old woman drowned in a nullah overflowing due to heavy rains in suburban Andheri on Wednesday, police said.
As per BMC data, the island city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs received 87.79 mm, 167.48 mm, and 95.57 mm rainfall between 5pm and 10pm.